Developing Creative Productivity in Young People through the Pursuit of Ideal Acts of Learning

Abstract

joseph s. renzulli and catharina f. de wet introduction The September 2007 issue of Smithsonian Magazine was dedicated to "America's Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences"-37 people under the age of 36 who are making names for themselves and are well on their way to eminence in their fields. Most of them can trace their passion and career focus to a few key experiences. Cristián Samper, for example, Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, says in his editorial introduction, My own love of science came from a love of nature. As a Boy Scout, I camped and hiked in Colombian rain forests, returning home eager to organize my collections of plants and animals.. .. At 15, I joined ornithologist Jorge Orejuela on a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) summer expedition to the remote rain forests in the Choco region of Colombia. This was my first experience in hands-on fieldwork, and as I saw scientific data, field observation, conservation biology and environmental policy all coming together, I was hooked (Smithsonian Magazine, 2007, p. 3). The unfortunate truth is that schools are not places where youngsters gain these kinds of experiences, places where creativity thrives, especially in the current educational climate where the emphasis is on increasing the academic achievement of underperforming students (Renzulli, 2005; Robinson, 2001). Academic achievement has become the focus of most of the thought, finances, and energy expended in education, and yet, we have an ambiguous relationship with academic achievement. Academic ability is believed to be essential for individual success and societal advancement, but anything impractical or not worthwhile is easily dismissed as being "academic" (Robinson, 2001). Formal and Informal Education Dewey (1916) divided educational activities in society into two distinct arenas: the informal and the formal. While all education is a social renewal process 24 P1: KAE Trim: 6.125in × 9.25in Top: 0.375in Gutter: 0.875in CUUS977-03 cuus977/Beghetto ISBN: 978 0 521 88727 4

Creativity Fostering Teaching: Impact of Creative Self-efficacy and Teacher Efficacy

“…One of the emergent ideas was the fact that teachers who got their students to become deeply interested in a subject made the most difference. Renzulli and De Wet (2010) argued that selection of teachers could be more important than training the teachers because certain characteristics such as openness to experience, flexibility, nonauthoritative personality, optimism and high energy are the "starting material" and these are hard to cultivate with training. When we apply this to the concept of teacher efficacy, all of such factors are more about teachers' personal qualities rather than external factors.…”

A Neuro-educational Study of the Development of the Creativity-based Teaching Program and its Effect

“…The model aims at enriching learning and teaching can be applied systematically for students of all ages (Sawyer, 2012: 393;Garcia-Cepero, 2008). The three types of enrichment are depicted in Figure. 2 (Renzulli & De Wet, 2010;39). Type I enrichment consists of general exploratory experiences that are designed to expose students to topics in areas of study not usually covered in the regular curriculum.…”

Research on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model: Four decades of insights, innovation, and evolution

“…Using the Enrichment Triad Model as an intervention with twice exceptional students has also shown positive outcomes (Baum et al, 2014). Longitudinal research on the use of the Triad Model has shown that students who completed Type III projects, both in and out of school, maintained interests and career aspirations in college and in graduate school (Delcourt, 1993;Renzulli and De Wet, 2010;Westberg, 2010). Research on the use of the Triad Model in college has also been conducted, with positive findings related to student creative productivity and engagement (Brandon et al, in review).…”